#this isn't some discourse or anything i just wanted to put this in words

[ugly-lizard-crab-thing]

lmao so apparently the first few chapters of Cursed were released as a sample for reviewers and naturally i wanted to see what those lucky bastards thought (as I don’t have access for the sampler). And then I read that some people think the erlking might be getting a redemption arc. My dudes, the guy murdered children. Not only do I personally not want to see him redeemed, but it will be an unsatisfying conclusion for the entire duology (i.e.: the guy murdered Serilda’s students. Also was the cause of her father’s death. And possibly her mother’s). 

So no matter how awful Perchta or the gods or whoever might me, Erlkönig won’t become a good guy. Aside from him remaining a horrifying villain (very cool!), this is Marissa Meyer we’re talking about. This duology is darker and more mature, sure; but it’s also written by the author who brought to us queen Levana (notoriously commited infanticide). And how did Levana end up? With a bullet in the head. *mic drop*

[batsplat]

pecco rant please please

*spins wheel on possible topics* absurdly underrated but in a dumb way. you'd think you can stumble your way into two premier class titles. I don't care he's on the best bike - let's be honest, how often this century have the title winners not been on the best bike? 2004 and to a lesser extent 2005 you can say clearly weaker bike, 2007 late 2010s 2021 there's a clear enough disparity with anyone else riding the bike that you can say clearly the rider is making the difference/it's an unrideable wreck one guy is making respectable, then there's a few seasons where it's at least very close whose machinery is best or they're fighting with people on equal equipment, which pecco has done! but generally speaking, good/promising riders end up on good bikes and then they win. that's how the game works!

the thing about 2022 is that it had such a massive mid-season swing that overhauling a ninety something point margin cannot come down to any single factor. is it fair to say fabio lost that title? on balance, it's a bit harsh - yes, there were a few too many errors post-sachsenring, yes, some were driven by desperation, but also you can't really expect anyone to ride a flawless season. but pecco did win that title as much as yamaha lost it. I don't care if you're riding a literal rocketship with two wheels, you can't win four races in a row if you're not extremely good at what you do! if we're saying that title was worth less because the yamaha turned to shit in the second half of the season, then let's keep going. let's put an asterisk next to 2013 because jorge and dani both got injured (let's not even get into the 'if marc hadn't been injured' asterisks because that's where you get into truly silly territory). is 2006 not a legit title because of all the bad luck valentino faced that year? let's say all titles between 2007 to 2015 were worth less because at any one time only 4-6 bikes had a realistic chance of winning races. throw out any title before 2009 because they were constantly fucking about with the tyres and there wasn't a level playing field. if you're motivated enough, you can play this game with basically anything, but it's dumb and pointless because that's not how sports works! you can only win against whoever you're facing. it has always been thus and it will always be thus

it's narratively fun and juicy that pecco has these insecurities himself - but within the context of everyone else doing discourse over it, the whole thing is massively overblown! linked to some of the worst sports discourse about how much people love to disparage late bloomers, because they need every single successful athlete to fit the same mould of the ultra-talented wunderkind, apparently. it's more interesting when it's not always the most 'talented' (whatever tf that means), naturally gifted, *fast the second he touches a bike* bloke who wins. sometimes they have to work hard for it, sometimes they have to improve themselves year on year and be smart about how they do it, sometimes they have to be in the right place and right time, sometimes they have to be very lucky. sports is all about competition, and competition is all about contrast. it's a contrast that can be generated in a whole lot of ways, and in fairness to motogp they have come up with a bunch of interesting narratively tense contests that don't rely on a massive fundamental 'talent' differential - but at the end of the day, that's one of the best ones you can have! the more ways you can have to win in any given sport, the better, both in the literal sense of how you go about the actual process of winning and how you even become a winner. none of this means that pecco isn't very very good, it means he got there in a different way than every other multiple champ this century has. it fundamentally flattens the sport if you want every top-level competitor to be an alien-level talent... one of the best things about this current era is that it has given us something new and exciting in that regard, where you well and truly believe some very different blokes might have what it takes to eventually be champion

anyway, pecco is absurdly adept at digging himself into holes and absurdly adept at digging himself out of them. he's one of the worst frontrunners imaginable in every sense, biologically incapable of dominating without at least a perpetual hint of jeopardy, both in the context of a race and a season. but when his back is against the wall, somehow he keeps finding performances you never imagined he was capable of. his mixed up and slightly odd skillset, his strengths and weaknesses, how he's better and worse than he has any right to be... all of it lends itself to perpetual momentum shifts and thrilling seasons - because you never quite know what you're going to get. love him or hate him, he's a gift to the overall competitive landscape! god knows the racing hasn't been much to write home about these last few years (though, yes, we did have a good little run this season), but somehow he's managed to get himself involved in two out of the six title deciders this century back-to-back. is that not the dream for the viewer, to have a bloke at the top of the sport with a little self-combust chip in his head every time he builds too much of an advantage? build a hundred of those guys! throw a marc marquez at him and see what he does! I can't wait to see what he'll come up with next

[leidensygdom]

I gotta say, one of the wildest radical transphobes' talking "points" is probably bathroom discourse. I can't even put to words how utterly detached from reality it is. It's terminally online stuff.

So, bathrooms. I don't know if somehow other people's realities are somehow vastly different from mine, but I feel like the extreme clear divide between "men's" and "women's" bathrooms is just not real. Where I live, stalls are often gendered, but how much they get used in that way is far less consistent.

For example: If the place had only the space to make one bathroom accessible, it's gonna be the women's bathroom. Always. It doesn't mean only disabled women have access to bathrooms- It means that the women's bathroom is also going to be used by disabled people. And this is common. Really common. Maybe it's because the women's bathroom tends to need more space- For pad dispensers and trash cans, for baby-changing stations (yes, I hate that these are only on the women's bathroom usually), and so on. Now- You see a guy enter the women's bathroom. Are you gonna micro-analize if the guy looks disabled enough to use it, or are you going to wash your hands and go on with your life?

Again, baby-changing stations are almost always located on the women's bathroom. It sucks- It should be in all bathrooms. But it's how it is. You see a cis guy enter with a kid. Or maybe not even with a kid- Just enters, wanders around, finds the baby-changing station, gets a diaper from the dispenser and leaves. Are you gonna throw a fit or just let this guy handle his kid?

Bathrooms get cleaned on the regular. A lot of times, you may wanna go there, and get told it's being cleaned, and just get asked to use the other gender's bathroom. Cleaning can take hours. If the men's bathroom is being cleaned and everyone is now using the women's, are you going to deem the bathroom to be the world's unsafest place or are you just go take a pee and leave?

Fucking hell, sometimes the stall you want to go to is incredibly dirty. It happens. No need to get on details. Just the kind of stuff that makes you want to not use it. Or maybe it's clogged, or maybe it's not working. Maybe there's a note saying "Broken, do not enter". Do you cry about it or just go find another stall- Which may be on the other fucking gender's bathroom?

Most times I'll use whatever bathroom is available. One is busy? Ok, let me get to the other one. I'm AFAB and while I don't present femininely, I still look like a woman to most people. Have I ever been in danger because I cleaned my hands besides someone with a dick? No. Grow the fuck up. This isn't even rare. People will switch bathrooms for speed. People will switch bathrooms because one of them is out of paper. Because one of them is out of soap.

The mall in my current city recently installed "Family" bathrooms. They're not being marketed as unisex, or inclusive, or anything. Just "family" bathrooms. For everyone. They're great. It's the bathroom everyone will use- Men, women, anything in between and outside of that, kids, disabled people, etc. There's a bunch of stalls adapted to different needs. There's accessible stalls. There's pad and diaper dispensers. There's stalls that have a big toilet and a little toilet so parents can go with their kids. There's tall sinks and short sinks- So disabled people and kids can reach.

And, to nobody's surprise, there's no reports whatsoever of any sort of assault in them.

I'm just. I don't know. I'm sorry you can't detach the existence of a dick near you from immediate assault. I don't know why that changes in the context of a bathroom- I've never (in my long life of using whatever bathroom) been in danger for that. And I'm talking as someone who has had some unsavory experiences in other situations. Grow the fuck up and maybe stop basing your views on imaginary scenarios y'all need to come up with to justify your hatred of a minority. Maybe if y'all got off your keyboards and went outside for once, you'd realize bathrooms work much differently from whatever weird ideal you have formed about them.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Aita for not making any of my characters, that I have to crank out daily, pansexual/polysexual/omnisexual specifically and only making them bi?

🏳️‍🌈👶🏼 so i can recognize this later lmao also I'm not panphobic or anything, this isn't about the validity of the label, pan is fine.

So i (20snb bi) have a project I'm working on where I take all the characters from a specifc media I'm into and pair them up with each other to make every possible ship kid from every possible ship(excluding characters who are kids themselves or are related or something, that shit is gross). Basically taking every character and pairing them up with another and creating a kid I think they'd have. Its a big project with lots of characters and I'm easily over 400 at this point. I really enjoy this, even if I'm not even 25% complete.

However I set a schedule for myself that at least one ship kid needs to come out each day which, considering I draw them, color them and give them some development and some even have siblings, (The refs themselves easily take me an hour to an hour and a half) I have to make lots of them quickly to keep up with my daily grind. I've been doing this project for over a year and although it's stressful, I can get them out quickly with breaks for myself.

Their character sheets all have some pretty basic info like their name, gender, pronouns, personality and more but it also includes their sexuality/orientation. I have a pretty basic list of options for what their sexuality will be: straight, lesbian, gay, Enbian, bi, Aro, ace and aroace with a few random things like polyam, WLW and a good amount of the something-loving-something/juvelic terms. I did this because, well, there's not many entirely unique orientations outside of them and although I love mogai/xenogenders and complex identities, I dont want to potentially drag up discourse or bring problems to my budding art blog over it. Its just not worth it to me to turn something I really care about on its head, even if I like microlabels.

In this case, I'm using bi as an umbrella term as most of the other terms share the same definition with slight variations in wording or action but not much difference in practice. We all like everyone, it's basic stuff. However, apparently this is a problem.

I've gotten one or two anons asking me questions about my guides asking some kind stuff like is this lesbian ship kid a butch or femme or Is this picture of them now or just at the age you put on the ref and other harmless stuff. Then things got rude with some Nbphobia but thrice now I've gotten asks:

1. Asking snarkily if im a panphobe

2. insulting me for not specifically writing pan or Omni and just writing bi.

3. Saying that I "clearly dont care about pansexual representation." Then brought up how my primary oc is native american so i clearly care about representation but that oc used to be a sona and I'm native?? Its confusing. (And Lowkey racist shit to just assume any native character is a "diversity quota" character instead of just a person existing but I digress-)

Im not pan, im bi so ig these people assume I'm not cool with pan people which isnt true? I have nothing aginest them, they are just pretty similar and I dont feel like it matters if they are specfically bi or pan or poly or any other label. I don't go into details like that for any other sub-group, not even pronouns and I included combinations and some common Neopronouns. I understand the importance of representation but my project has less than 50 people looking at it every day, Im not netflix or something. I'm one guy on the most LGBT blogging site with a big project and very little audience, I'm not showing people who wouldn't already know what pan is that pansexuality exists.

This project isn't that deep considering the characters in question aren't human/dont have human characteristics.(no it's not hazbin/helluva) Also ive never spoken about lgbt discourse or stated anything remotely close to it beyond the guides just passively having characters who are an LGBT identity. I've not even mentioned all the potentional orientations they could have so I'm not sure where/why this came up in the first place. The most politcial things ive said are calling out a creator in my fandom who outed themselves as a transphobe and mentioning im pro-palestine. That's it.

I mean this is pretty low stakes, I can just block these people and be done with it and this some seriously online shit but I just wanna check.

Am I being an asshole for just writing bi instead of specifying their mspec label because I have to produce characters quickly and I don't see enough of a difference to warrant a change/specification that would ultimately slow and clog an already stressful and complex project?

I dont think I am but idk lol

What are these acronyms?

[starlight-bread-blog]

My Interpetation of The Southern Raiders: Part 2 – Zuko

Warning: The views expressed in this analysis will be somewhat uncritical of Zuko. If you aren't likely to agree, you aren't going to enjoy this post. This is your chance to leave. I probably won't have a debate for personal reasons.

——————

This is the second part out of a three part series trying to answer every question posed by the discourse on The Southern Raiders. If I take some things for granted, it's because I discussed them in part 1, in which I delve into A\ang's role in the episode. Today, I'll set my sights on Zuko.

——————

1. Was Zuko a negative influence on Katara?

No, he did not. When Zuko merely presents the possibility of tracking her mother’s killer, it cuts through her reply right to her already leaving. In literature, what isn’t in the text holds no relevance and is to be disregarded as mere speculation. We don’t see Zuko convincing her, therefore he had no influence on her, and that she made the choices she did because she wanted to.

All Zuko did later on was defend a decision Katara already made on her own. And in both the first and second disagreements with Aang she had the last word. Ergo she was making her own choice.

Additionally, before they enter the room of who they think was her mother’s killer, Zuko asks her if she’s ready. And when she finally spares Yon Rha, he supports her decision. If he were to influence her, he wouldn’t have done either of these things. He only wanted to help Katara heal and never brought up anything that wasn’t already there.

——————

2. Was Zuko being too harsh on Aang?

(1) That's cute, but this isn't air temple preschool. It's the real world.

(2) [Forgiveness]'s the same as doing nothing!

(3) Okay, we'll be sure to do that, guru goody-goody.

He was definitely disrespectful towards Aang's culture, although his disrespectful remarks are a response to Aang’s own disrespect, imposing his beliefs onto Katara. And he didn’t say that until after Aang compared Katara to Jet. It was still wrong to come after the Air Nomad teachings, but they’re not as insulting as people paint them to be.

And it’s not like he didn’t take them back by the end of the episode. Zuko had good intentions, made a mistake and learned from it. That’s how characters grow, through mistakes. (More on that later).

——————

3. What motivated Zuko to find Yon Rah?

He wanted to earn Katara’s trust. The show makes it explicitly clear.

Zuko: What can I do to make it up to you?

And so later:

Zuko: Katara mentioned it before when we were imprisoned together in Ba Sing Se, and again just now when she was yelling at me. I think somehow she's connected her anger at that to her anger at me.

I’ve seen many describe this motive as selfish or manipulative, but I have to disagree. He has no reason to do anything to earn Katara’s trust. He saved her life on that very day, is fully accepted into the GAang, and in this episode he found out that some of her anger at him is rooted in projection. But he still goes out of his way to do the impossible, to give Katara the closure she needs in order to put faith in him.

——————

4. Why did Zuko think revenge\murder would help Katara?

Katara is a kind soul and murder wouldn’t have helped her heal, but Zuko had good reasons to think it would have. He didn’t know Katara’s soul, she didn’t even consider him a colleague, at that point she hated him. However, he did see Sokka killing Combustion Man in The Western Air Temple. So he has no way of knowing whether revenge would help, but he’s under the impression that murder isn’t a big taboo at least for some of the GAang. (Edit: Katara threatened to take his life 3 episodes ago. He had every reason to believe murder could help her).

Moreover, he knows that the person who took his mother away from him will receive justice, and that it helps him sleep at night. Katara doesn’t have that, Yon Rha retired in peace. So he offers her the justice he knows helps him.

But the main reason why he thinks revenge would help Katara, is that she told him it will. Zuko plays a largely passive role in the episode, simply assisting Katara in whatever way he can.He’s only fulfilling Katara’s wishes, and she told him that her wish is to seek justice on “the monster”.

——————

5. Did the trip have an effect on Zuko?

It did. By the end of the episode, Zuko delivers the following line:

This is an important part of his arc of unlearning the Fire Nation’s black and white philosophy that values aggression above all else. He comes around to Air Nomad pacifism and non violent solutions from seeing them work first hand. And as the good (redeemed) person that he is, he admits he was wrong and changes his views. He grew as a character to become a better version of himself.

Edit: As I stated previously, Zuko didn't really know Katara until they went on the trip, which is part of why he thought murder could be of help. Now that he'd seen her journey in the episode, he knows her quite well (and won't make such offers again).

——————

In conclusion, despite the somewhat questionable nature of Zuko's actions in "The Southern Raiders", his underlying good intentions shine through. His role was not a devil on Katara’s shoulder, but a natural force backing up whatever decision she makes. And this allows him to emerge with a valuable lesson learned.

Continued

[elvendorx]

The Remus and Sirius height discourse has become so loaded. Today I saw a post claiming that viewing Sirius as taller than Remus means that one supports jkr? (What?)

Canonically, Sirius is taller than Remus. That's just a fact. And I understand that some people don't care about canon, and that's cool!! But even if you don't give a flying fig about canon, that does not make the view that Remus is taller than Sirius any more valid than the reverse, and you can't go around telling other people that they are wrong, or worse, bad people for not agreeing with a version of the character that exists in your head?

Look I get that it would be annoying to have people inject an "ahem actually..." on posts that are clearly based on headcanons. I get that. But that is the natural consequence of taking the names/tags of characters from popular fandoms and using them for your own OCs, and the fact that these fans jump to "they must be horrible people!" as opposed to "they might be confused about my relationship with canon" is... something.

As someone who is neurodivergent, I find that the fandom that claims to love diversity has very little tolerance for people who don't understand the unwritten rules about when canon is and isn't allowed to be used as a reference point. (Somehow, we still hate Snape because canon, but all other canon is garbage?) Sorry for the rant, I'm just tired and confused.

don't be sorry at all, i think this kind of thing needs to be talked about because at its worst, this rhetoric is an attempt at emotional manipulation and censorship. nobody is ever going to 100% agree even with the exact same words on a page - this is the entire literary criticism field, most of the time variation in readings are a good thing but this isn't even a "reading", because it has no bearing on the characters, they just are or aren't a certain height, so it becomes a tool for personal agendas - "if you think sirius was tall, you're a fascist". even though those two facts are not connected, because sirius' height is never anything more than a physical description of him. and it's glaringly obvious that the people who fixate on this aren't interested in sirius as a character, just as a vehicle for their own fantasies/validation.

this is the problem that comes from people trying to put dynamics & personalities that they want to see onto characters who don't fit those moulds. the height thing doesn't actually matter, it doesn't change anything in the narrative, but it summarises the attitude towards canon which for me summarises critical reading & reading comprehension as a whole within hp fandom. i don't think canon is perfect and i don't think it's sacred but i don't understand why you would engage with something that you have to twist out of recognition in order to enjoy it.

part of the fun of fandom, for me, is finding the limits and boundaries while maintaining recognition. at the very least, even if you change everything else, character has to be consistent. you have to recognise who you're working with otherwise what are you doing here? other authors are writing and have written exactly what you want, so why do you need this character with a history and motivations and a distinctive personality to be the ideal version of you/the partner you want (because lbr, that's it!). i'm not saying that people can't use their imaginations and bend things, i do it, and people can do that by bending characters out of recognition if they want. i don't get any enjoyment out of that or see the point in it but i'm not going to try and stop people. it's the flagrant dismissal of logic and evidence that i think is a more dangerous stance when applied more widely.

it's ALWAYS the people who want remus to be taller and sirius to be tiny who have 10 million personal reasons why they need it to be that way around despite it being clear that sirius is specifically tall, and remus is of such average and nondescript height that it's never mentioned. it's nobody else's responsibility to validate anyone's projections onto a fictional character, and your personal reasons for wanting a character to behave in a way that they wouldn't isn't anybody's responsibility. i don't think these kind of people see the irony in how they're trying to force their view on everyone else even though there's direct contradiction to it, yet are claiming that people who go with that feature from the text are violent fanaticists or something.

when you question why it makes such a difference to the "big strong remus and baby boi sirius" people, it comes down to "it's cuter" or "it allows me to simplify m/m relationships into tough and cute and use physical attributes as symbols rather than thinking complexly about personality traits and dynamics." the height thing is basically one step away from top/bottom discourse and just because someone identifies as queer or relates to a character doesn't make it unproblematic. if you need to see a character who represents your specific circumstances, find one or make an original one, imo. it's not an entire fandom's job to validate individuals and it's manipulative to suggest that someone else seeing a character according to the way that character is explicitly described is an act of hatred or violence or something.

apologies if this turned into a rant of its own - i don't CARE that sirius is tall but the attitude towards minor, basic facts is wild to me. it makes no difference to me but idk why you would take being taller than snape away from sirius bc he clearly enjoys being able to tower over him. if i did want to argue that sirius' height makes a difference in the text, i'd say that sirius is tall because padfoot is also a large creature and there seems to be some kind of reflection of the human in animagus forms, whereas the whole werewolf thing is something inflicted externally rather than something that comes from within the person so remus' human height isn't reflected by his lycanthropy. but that's a whole other question i would have to research more.

[asongoftearsandfandoms]

I notice that through all the discourse I find scrolling through the Tumblr tags about Alastor is that people don't really talk about what his character's point in the narrative is.

I can't remember the specific name of the character type, but I found a list of character types, and it's kind of an amalgamation of these: Doubter, rival, charmer, enigma, meddler, skeptic, pessimist, the shadow.

He's not trying to be an antagonist, and he's not quite a foil (well, maybe to Vox).

His role is to provide helpful opposition to his allies (especially the Morningstars).

It's like that friend that sees you're down and instead of trying to offer kind words, says "yeah, you're right. You suck, you're the worst, you never would have done a good job anyways. You were always going to fail. I mean, prove me wrong!" It switches your self-loathing and defeatedness to resolute determination.

Think about it. In the Pilot, he aids Charlie in making the hotel more desirable, but he openly tells her he thinks she's going to fail.

But think about when he shows up. Charlie has just suffered a huge public embarrassment and morale crush.

She's literally still sitting there moping when he knocks on the door.

He simultaneously declares his intent to assist her in this endeavor and starts trashing on sinners and how he thinks it'll never work. And look at the effect it has on Charlie:

She was nervous and somewhat uncertain before, but her stubbornness kicks in and she's motivated to prove him (and everyone else) wrong.

Let's look at another time he antagonized someone into doing better.

Lucifer shows up, depressed and unmotivated and having obviously been an absent father for a while. Alastor hones in on this, possibly before he even showed up (based on Charlie's hesitation and phone call with him).

It looks like jealousy on the surface, a pissing contest between two dominant males, but when has Alastor ever shown interest in being a father figure to Charlie before? Or expressed desire to be anything resembling family? But you know who does desperately want to be family to Charlie? Lucifer. Alastor immediately recognizes this is a sore point for Lucifer and needles those exact points, putting pressure on.

What does this do? Fires Lucifer up and makes him want to push back by actively taking back the role of being Charlie's father, and wanting to help Charlie with whatever he can give her, both materially with the hotel and emotionally as a father.

And look how proud this man looks. This isn't a face of jealousy or frustration that he lost against Lucifer, this is the pleased look of a job well done.

He knew exactly what he was doing. Lucifer wanted to reconnect with Charlie, but without that push from this tiny little Overload who thinks he's hot shit, who knows if he would have fought for her. The antagonizing pushed him from depressed passive longing to motivated actions.

Alastor's narrative role is helpful opposition to the protagonists, through providing doubt, being a rival, and posing as a meddler, skeptic, pessimist. He charms his way around, using connections and pure power to support the hotel. Why would he defend the hotel if he wanted it to fail? He could have just sat back and laughed. It's because even if he doesn't have an investment on seeing the ultimate goal of the hotel succeed, he does have some level of investment in seeing those inside get/do/be better.

[the-converse-high-top]

Affixes, Clitics, and Particles

i think that these parts of language are really cool! so im going to try to explain them :D also i definitely did not get sent down an hours long rabbit hole of linguistic papers and i also definitely didn't find out that the reason i wanted to make this post is actually a misconception :D i love ignoring things :D

Affixes:

the wikipedia article for affixes says that "in linguistics, an affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form."

in hopefully simpler terms, this basically means that an affix is a letter, or a group of letters that form a single sound or syllable, that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form.

some examples of these are the somewhat well known prefix and suffix, but also the beloved infix:

prefix: undone suffix: spotless infix: abso-fucking-lutely

sidenote: my favorite thing about english infixes is that they pretty much only work with expletives. in fact, there's a tom scott video about expletive infixations!

Clitics:

wikipedia defines a clitic as such: "a clitic is a morpheme that has syntactic characteristics of a word, but depends phonologically on another word or phrase."

in layman's terms: a clitic is a letter, or a group of letters that form a single sound or syllable, that has the function of a word in a sentence, but depends on another word or phrase based on the sound rules of the language.

a few examples of clitics can be seen in finnish (which also has a great many affixes but we're not talking about those right now):

-ko/kö -han/hän -pa/pä -kin

the spelling of the clitic depends on vowel harmony. if you want to learn more, this dissertation is all about finnish clitics!

you may be asking yourself how to tell the difference between clitics and other parts of speech. well this study has just the thing for you! quite a few tests are suggested by the author of this study if you want to be able to tell if something is a clitic or not, including some of the following:

a phonological test observe how the clitic forms a phonological unit with an independent word. (do not ask me how this one works i dont know) accentual test "clitics are accentually dependent, while full words are accentually independent." put simply, if you can't put stress on it, it's probably a clitic syntactic test a word can stand on its own and be subject to normal word processes such as tense changes while a clitic cannot do this

Particles:

"'Particle' is a cover term for items that do not fit easily into syntactic and semantic generalizations about the language[.]"

read: "particle" is a miscellaneous, catch all term for anything that doesn't fit into the above two categories (or any other word categories like nouns, verbs, etc.)

the author of this study (who i'm going to refer to as Zwicky from now on because it's easier) says that theres no such thing as a particle and that its distinction from affixes, clitics, words, and clauses is unnecessary. i think thats an. interesting take.

anyway even though Zwicky just said theres no such thing as particles (which, how could he do that? theres kids around! we dont want to ruin the magic!) he concedes that there is actually a group of words that are commonly called particles that he agrees are actually particles. but he decides to call them discourse markers instead. because fuck you.

i dont like any of the words that Zwicky included so i made a list of my own:

-ね (ne) eh (canadian english) innit (common transcription of "isn't it", british english)

the funny thing is im coming out of this still not entirely clear on what a particle is. i thought i knew, i did some research, realized i didnt know, and now i'm here. based on how Zwicky puts it, it feels like the category of "particle" exists to accommodate the fact that there might be words* that arent affixes, clitics, words, or clauses but it feels like Zwicky is just being contrary. I should probably have done more research but this post was supposed to be done 24 hours ago.

out of context highlights from my research process: - sanskrit - the panini rule - doch - verbosely long section titles

*i dont actually mean words, i mean a morpheme which is a letter or a group of letters that form the representation of one sound that carries meaning, but i didn't want to make that sentence long and unreadable

if i'm wrong, please tell me! i would appreciate being corrected, i know i am not an expert on this topic in the slightest.

[aro-rambles]

Hello! My Blog isn't aspec related so I thought I'd share my two cents here

The recent aro hate on this website is INSANE. As someone who is new to tumblr, seeing this in a predominantly queer-centred website is unfathomable.

Equating aro people to "no strings attached" is illogical and stems from the allo-amato notion that there are strings to be attached in the first place. Physical pleasure and emotional fulfilment are two completely separate concepts.

Portraying cishet aro men as people who are just leading on the poor women infantilizes women. This is just misogyny packed as discourse. If a cishet aro person is indeed being a dickhead, they're just a dickhead and we can all call them out on that like we call out any other dickhead

To the queer people equating aromanticism to pedophilia, how do y'all not remember that how gay men were treated back in the day? How we were cordoned off from society to "protect the children"? Do better, people

To the aspec people being accused of doing this just to be able to use a slur, fuck that. The exclsionists seem to have forgotten what a reclaimed slur means, or what queer means. Queer simply mean strange. Have they.. forgotten that aroace people are the queerest ones out there. Challenging not only heteronormativity but also allonormatovity and amatonormativity. They're the ones being called weird for not dating or having crushes or swooning over the random hot guy on the street or fantasizing about a white wedding. The ones treated as immature by their peers for not having a partner yet. And people think they aren't queer?

Fuck the exclsionists. I LOVE your posts. I'm sure I'm surrounded by people hating in anon in your ask box and I'm sending them all the hate in my heart. I love your blog and the aro community is one of the most inclusive I've seen on here. Love y'all and stay strongggg

ok so I'm very sleepy and my brain is like some sort of sauce currently so I'm gonna put numbers before each thing I say bc it's easier, don't worry about it

1 thank you for sharing your two cents, I think I agree with everything you said (can't be sure bc my brain is some sort of sauce currently but I'm sure I'd have noticed if I disagreed)

2 I want to go on The Slur Rant (tm) so bad but the internet is simply not prepared for it and I would rather not have to deal with the annoying fucks who'd disagree with me. not sure why I said this or why I got so aggressive at the end of that last sentence but here we are.

3 I'm sure there was something else I wanted to say before what I'm gonna say next but I forgot, sorry

4 my dude you are not in fact surrounded by hate in my askbox!! there's actually more nice messages than anything else <2 and also whenever I get anon hate I just block on sight now so it's fine. but yeah I would like to thank everyone for the kind words and everything. I love yall except for the ones who rather I didn't, in which case take your pick, we got uhhh cherish, appreciate, like but stronger, and. :3 (<- consider this a verb).

5 thank youuuuuuuu <222

6 sorry I took a while to answer this ask hope you see it even though I'm posting this at horrible hours gdhdjdjdk

[alli-a-baba]

Happiness Is A Butterfly - Zack Addy x Reader

They/Them pronouns. 2,400 words. Pt.1.

Being a part of the rotating interns was difficult. Trying to keep up with Dr. Hodgins comments only his friends understood was difficult. Dr. Brennan's impossibly high standards for the professional environment were petrifying, and confusing from her friendly relationship with Agent Booth. Angela was emotionally intelligent but touchy on certain subjects. And Camille was the boss.

The way they flowed together was unmatchable, it was good for Y/N.

When the team was boiled down to their main characteristics; Hodgins was sarcastic and wanted someone who had thick skin to appreciate his pointed remarks, but smart enough to understand them.

Dr. Brennan just wanted you to do your job, and be understanding of how much time you have to allocate to keep the position. Agent Booth wants someone to understand his un-scientific humor.

Angela likes to talk about things you see outside of the lab, but also wants the discourse and drama of the people inside. Camille wants you to be able to testify and not annoy her with anything other than basic polite company and case related topics.

Y/N is a chronic people pleaser.

Then their is Dr. Addy. Dr. Zachary Uriah Addy, to be precise.

Dr. Addy was Brennan's previous grad student, her set grad student. Until he made pals with a serial killer and ate somebody. Their was little media coverage on who was caught for the crimes the serial killer committed, but it happening at the Jeffersonian?

People talked, and you listened.

It was fascinating to be in the place where it all happened, but you couldn't ask any of your coworkers about him. Anytime his name was said it was followed by a quick glance and a reminder that "Dr. Addy no longer works here."

Camille never referred to him by name. Everyone else did. The case you were working on now Hodgins had him at the forefront of his mind, "Zack would know more about this.", "Zack would've said that-"

You can't be Zack, but the fascination pressed on.

"Ask him then." Y/N said bluntly. The skull had damage all over and they were examining it, subtly watching Hodgins mannerisms.

"It's not that simple and you know that" His face was a little red and he had a soft line in between his bushy eyebrows. He was annoyed.

"Would you hurry up with the head Brennan will be here any second and I have to get the particulates."

You raised your eyebrows and the sudden outburst. "Its 'The Cranium' actually." He gave a dejected snort and a small smile at your attempt to lighten the mood while handing over the skull.

"Why isn't it that simple?" He stopped, "What do you mean."

"Asking Zack?" He took a deep breath and kept walking back to his station. Inclined for an answer you followed.

"Right, I forget you don't know him."

"Dr. Addy did some bad things and isn't working here anymore that's all nothing more nothing less." Camille snapped a fresh pair of gloves on her hands.

"You said their was some flesh flakes for me Y/N?" You laughed a little, "Yes Dr. Saroyan theirs some skin left behind in between the metatarsal bones and phalanges on the feet, what do you make of the scraping? it's all over the remains." Camille's eyes slightly opened in recognition. She pressed her lips into a thin line, moving to the table the bones rested on, "I'm not sure that's more a... Dr. Brennan question."

"Okay sounds good I'll just wait I suppose." Camille gave you a tight lipped smile as she walked away to examine the skin.

"Put the markers on this and give it to Angela, I have to go talk to Brennan." Hodgins shoved the skull into your hands, the marks were rough to the touch. He shuffled down the stairs towards Dr. Brennan using the pole for support. Probably contaminating it with the gloves he carelessly forgot to remove.

While placing the identifying markers and cleaning the pole with a chlorine based disinfectant spray, Y/N listened in on their hushed conversation. Only hearing bits and pieces. Talk of Zack and the scraping looking familiar but deeper and more rigid. When they walked up to give Angela the skull, the conversation died out and Booth cleared his throat.

"I've placed the markers," Handing the skull to Angela, "-and the remains are ready for you Dr. Brennan."

"Yes lets do that now."

They suspect cannibalism, and you knew they were relating it to Zack.

-

Dr. sweets was your friend in all of this. Feeling left out of their flow you talked about them together. Growing up in a household with angry spontaneous parents, you read people. You knew what they were feeling and knew what to say to keep peace. Growing up in the foster system Lance did the same. You two had that in common.

"So the remains are covered in teeth marks, were suspecting cannibalism." Sweets choked on his Miami vice cocktail. He drinks them because he likes Miami vice as a show, but mostly he cant take the flavor of more 'manly' drinks.

"Sorry, here." you hand him a napkin.

"Their all relating it to Zack?" He said gingerly dabbing his mouth.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" He tilts his head to the side scanning the left side of his brain, recalling events.

"I was there when it happened. Even though I barely knew him, It's still the first thing in my mind."

You look down absent mindedly running the rim of your finger around the mouth of your drink resting your cheek on a loose fist. "What's on your mind Y/N?"

"Don't treat me like a patient Dr. Sweets," He gives a lopsided smile and ducks is head down to your slumped eye level. "They asked me to come back tomorrow since I've 'seen so much of the case already."

"Odd?"

"Yes!"

"And you're not happy?"

You sighed while sitting up to see him clearer,

"I'm happy, just tired." Sweets takes a sip of his drink to wet his throat,

"I'll see you tomorrow then-"

"Why"?

"Look whos asking questions now." He raises his eyebrows and gives you childish grin,

"They want me to ask Zack about some things, something sodium or the other. Which is salt so that is odd. I think everyone knows that's salt. Right? Anyone I was thinking someone should come with me but their all so hesitant to face him-"

"Sodium Bicarbonate, baking soda. We found traces if it on the remains- is that in invitation?" You both knew it was, but with sweets you don't need to read in between the lines when you can ask.

"Ill need to talk to Brennan and Booth but yeah, I need a mediator for the science talk."

"I think you could hold your own," You say, finishing off your drink, "but if I have to we should celebrate." they get up to order more drinks.

"Don't pretend like your not excited Y/N"

-

Case file in hand, you had everything laid out. You had your assumptions and everyone's findings written down systematically. Like how deep the teeth marks on the bones were, and the sodium bicarbonate particulates. As well as the traces of hydrofluoric acid in the left over skin on the toes. Having no clue on who he was besides talk, it was hard to think about how to act appropriately. So Y/N went with the basics. They dressed in blues since the color has calming properties, and parted their hair to the left, which conveys intelligence.

"Don't you look professional. Sweets said opening the door for them.

"I'm going for the nice kindergarten teacher look." Y/N said.

"More like the science teacher in middle school that plays movies every Friday after a shitty test." Perfect.

"Even better." He moves his arm behind their headrest to reverse,

"You nervous?" Completely and utterly, but saying that out loud made it true. Y/N was scared to meet him like one was scared to meet their favorite band. That they won't live up to unrealistic expectations.

"A little, but I'm mostly excited." He glances at you, he knows that's not the whole truth but it goes unspoken. The two of you are left with silence. But not a comfortable silence like usual.

"Don't get too excited he's not that cool." and then it melts away,

"Is someone jealous?"

"Get off your high horse, were here."

"Oh-" he softly grabs your hand and you flinch, "Y/N."

He takes the folder and sets it on the dash taking your other hand,

"are you okay?" He says quietly. You squeeze his hands and nod,

"You tore the folder a little with your nails, I know you're scared but he's harmless." Your eyes meet and he gives you a reassuring nod.

"He killed someone Lance, that's terrifying." He sighs and looks down before cupping his hand and whispering in your ear, "Between you and me, no, no he didn't"

"What-"

"Please state your name and why you're here?" The guard says though the speaker.

"Here to see inmate Zachary Addy, I have an appointment for 12:30?"

Sweets looked at you over his shoulder at you, apologetically.

"You can go through." The gate buzzes and slowly opens.

-

"We didn't have an appointment until Monday Dr. Sweets-" A voice says lowly through the door. As they walk through, he stops himself and stares at Y/N.

"who's that?" Zack asks tentatively, not bothering to ask you directly. His face was smooth having small patches of hair across his chin an jawline. It was light enough to be unnoticeable. It contrasted with his dark, disheveled hair.

"Their just here to explain the case better than I can Zack."

Zack thought for a moment, fiddling with the thick black gloves that encapsulated his hands.

"That was unnecessary, the file could've been handed over without explanation ." Zack holds his hand out for the folder, still staring at Lance. His eyes were dull and half lidded, emotionless to the situation. Sweets pulled out your chair for you and sat in his own, parallel to Zack. His hands were in cuffs with a chain linked to the table. It didn't calm Y/N's anxiety, he was a genius. Cuffs couldn't hold him if he truly wanted to get out.

The Dr. furrowed his brows in confusion, making connections in his mind. The cuffs, the way Dr. Sweets seemed to be so friendly with you, "You're my replacement."

He finally looked at you, his dull brown eyes swirled with something. Jealousy? Concern?

Y/N met his eye contact willingly, forcing the nervous cringe of their face back. You never show a predator weakness.

"Me an about a dozen other people." They flip open the folder and graze through the papers breaking the heavy eye contact, landing on the sheet that listed main points about the case. Picking out high resolution photos of the bones as well. They wanted to ask all about why Zack was in here. Why he was, how he could do that, what convinced him it was a good idea to cause such grief. Most of all if he really didn't kill that man.

He studied them, like a case of his own. Carefully looking them over, limb by limb, over the buttons on your shirt and the steady rise and fall of your chest. His eyes burnt into them, it was hard to focus.

"Their an intern Zack, we just have some questions and I'll be back tomorrow morning to pick up the file." Sweets was uncomfortable, Y/N handed him the sheets of paper so he could have a little control in the quickly unfolding scene. Lance gave you a small smile in return.

As he laid out each paper, you explained the case like you were on stand at trial. Dr. Addy never looked at the papers being placed on the table, opting to openly stare at Y/N. Wanting to keep their ground, they met his stare only glancing down every few moments to see which paper was next. It was a one sided conversation, and when you were finished he finally looked down at the images systematically placed in front of him.

"Can you work with that, Dr. Addy?" Y/N said, Zack's eyes widened at the professional connotation.

"Yes." Sweets stood up, "Great! Then were done here, Y/N?"

"I guess so." They stood up and ran their hands across the fabric of their top, smoothing out the imposed wrinkles from sitting down. Taking notice of Dr. Addy's brown eyes that followed the movement of their hands.

Zack stood up as well, stretching the chain on his cuffs to its full extent. He was tall. Taller than they thought, probably around 5'11 or 12. Y/N's eyes followed him up to the looming position he had over them. "I'll be seeing you both tomorrow then." His eyes met theirs, the smile paired with his relaxed eyes was unsettling. Involuntarily, Y/N shivered looking away at Lance. Breaking their stance in the unwavering staring contest he just wouldn't let go. Zack turned to Sweets, but never looked at him.

"No, just me Zack." He grabbed the folder that held the remainder of the case from your limp grasp, and tossed it on the table. The force made methodically laid out papers clash together. It startled Zack, his chains clamored together cutting through the silence. Lance grabbed your shoulder and pushed you to the door, swiping his card.

"Tomorrow then." Zack said.

Peeking out from behind Sweets, Y/N looked at Zack. The sides of his lips were turned, like he knew something they didn't. It was unsettling and you wanted to delve into his psyche and swim in his thoughts.

"Why won't this damn card work?"

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Been thinking again about the "Mitchum was right" post I wrote, and how the Gilmore Girls fandom has such a Rory-hate problem. Because in the fandom discourse "Mitchum was right" is saddled with lots of implications about how much of a failure, undeserving of the love, praise and encouragement she receives Rory is. It's so often taken as a synonym with "it's so satisfying to see this privileged little pampered girl being taken down a peg and slapped in the face with reality". And that's not it to me at all.

If anything, Rory's reaction to Mitchum's comments highlight an underlying problem about how she was raised. While Lorelai was raised in an environment where demands to conform were very high, Rory was raised in an environment were expectations of excellence were high. Rory doesn't have the freedom to be ordinary or to choose to be ordinary, or even outstanding at an ordinary, obscure job. Where Lorelai could rebel in the name of freedom, a Rory rebellion would have always been perceived as an unforgivable waste, as a sort of degradation. Lorelai was expected to not stand out, and because she stood out, Rory is expected to stand out.

The Christiane Amanpour aspiration always felt weird to me, because that's just not the sort of person Rory is. Rory is used to a model where if she does what pleases others, she will be rewarded with affection and admiration. Rory doing well or badly at school is predominantly about her reputation as intellectually outstanding, and not about the knowledge being acquired or the satisfaction of overcoming a great obstacle with great effort. In other words she's been raised since childhood with other people's expectations that she'll achieve great things and whatever she wants, not because she can put great effort and make great sacrifices and push hard, but because she's Rory and Rory means brilliant and good by default. Rory's source of validation is not the results of her own work, but the social rewards she gets for it.

It is a big contrast with Paris, who is made a go-getter for the simple reason that her family does not care about her and therefore has not created that system of social rewards for her. (I'm not saying this is good; I'm just presenting the way things work for her). Paris does crave those social rewards, of course, because she doesn't have them, but doesn't get discouraged when she doesn't get them, because she's used to it and has found a different source of motivation for herself. The only person Paris can really disappoint is herself.

That's why Rory is so secretive about the good things she has in her relationship with Jess. Standing up for Jess that way means pushing back against the narrative the people in her life have constructed about him and her, and that means letting them down and receiving negative feedback (this is a bit different from the just blank-statement "you hate Jess for no reason" and "he isn't as bad as you think" she does at some points, because those reinforce the narrative of "Rory is such a good girl she'll see good in everyone"). But I also think she's not the least bit aware that she's doing this or why.

The Christiane Amanpour style journalism is all about pushing back against the established narratives of those in power, and getting a lot of negative feedback from people that don't want to tell the truth or have the truth out in the open. It's about knowing what you want and be ruthless in its pursuit, no matter what, because THAT is the reward you get from it. Fame and fortune may or may not come, but they are not necessary for your self fulfillment.

From that perspective it does make sense for Mitchum to test Rory the way he does, and arrive to the conclusions he does. It is also proven right in how Rory crumbles in front of this negative feedback instead of digging her heels in.

But this isn't Rory's FaultTM

Because she hasn't been raised to be resilient in the face of negative feedback, to build a strong sense of self outside of the approval of the adults around her, and derive satisfaction from the things she does well and enjoys doing. The only instance of this she has is her job as editor of the Yale Daily News, and yet she never extracts the lesson that that is a great job for her, because she never seeks out similar jobs elsewhere. Why?

Because an editor is essentially someone whose job is the best when they are the least noticed. It's an essential job that requires great skills for managing people and schedules, keeping track of several things at the same time, and a clear perception of the big picture. Rory has all of that! But there are no famous newspaper editors as editors. Editors don't stand out, and Rory has been conditioned her whole life that in order to fulfill the expectations of everyone in her life, she MUST stand out.

This opposition between Lorelai's "never give in in anything" and Rory's "always give in in everything" also heavily influences the different way they face similar relationships. Lorelai can never be at peace with her mother, Rory can never be at peace without her. Lorelai's relationship with Christopher can never work because he's her bolt/rebel escape and she cannot outgrow that (as a side note this is why the execution of the Javajunkie does not work for me. Lorelai never achieves the state of mind where she can cope with someone else's hard boundaries, because she's incapable of seeing them under any other light than a restriction set upon her autonomy). Rory's relationship with Logan can never work out because she's mesmerized and subdued by his extreme self-assurance and inclination to disruption, and he works her punishment/rewards levers like an expert (and the failure of Literati's relationship on Rory's side is her inability to put her foot down and say "this is what I need from you" and "you cannot do this to me"). Both Christopher and Logan represent unhealthy coping mechanisms, but in opposite directions.

[theminecraftbee]

hello you seem to know whats going on help what is tumblr ettiquette and how do i tumblr

oh, uh, howdy! i will do my best to answer this, but i was joking yesterday about how i'm bad at answering questions about knowledge i've known for a while because i am bad at divining what details other people need to know when i already know them. but here's some tips that might help!

turn off best posts first, anything that tumblr recommends you, visible likes, and visible following. you should be able to do all of these things in your settings i just recommend doing them to make your life much easier.

don't use tags that aren't relevant to your post. for example, don't tag an intro post "hermitcraft". however, it's also worth noting: don't use tags with words that aren't relevant to your post, either, because tumblr's search is bad and will pick up those too. (so don't tag "and i really like hermitcraft" in a post that has nothing to do with it, either.) this only matters for... i think it's the first ten tags? after that, tumblr doesn't care anyway. (it might even be as few as the first five i don't. optimize my tags for discoverability anyway so i don't know.)

have a profile picture and a blog title that isn't just your name. some people's blog titles are their name? but you don't see those unless they click on your blog so most people's are like, jokes or things they want to title their blog. your url is also only sort of your name - it's what people know you by but it isn't usually your actual name (for example, my name is second, but this url has nothing to do with time).

reblog stuff! i know you've been hearing about this a lot, and i'm actually gonna say "yeah some people are really super aggressive about it and it's probably not necessary", but know that on tumblr, it is normal to reblog way, WAY more than you post as original content! if you have commentary to add on that reblog, you can put it in the tags if it's stuff that doesn't add to the post (like compliments, random anecdotes, answers to tag games) or, if you're feeling spicy, add a comment on the reblog - although etiquette suggests you only do this if you have a comment that adds to the original post, and most people don't do that often. if your tags are good enough (or you see someone's tags in your notes or while reblogging that you like enough!), it's normal to copy/paste or screenshot them into a comment on the reblog to share them with other people.

the queue exists! this is a way to put posts to post or reblog into a waiting list that tumblr will post at regular intervals. i largely use it to stick art and other things into so i don't completely spam my dash. ...then i spam my dash anyway. use of a queue is entirely optional, but is a way you can use tumblr if you like it!

it’s perfectly fine to reblog old stuff, and in fact treated as normal to have certain old posts circulating. don’t worry about it!

generally, it is better to, if you see stuff in the tag you dislike, figure out what tag or words to block and move on. (for example, i have the phrase "stim board", "stims", and "mood board" blocked, and i know many people have the phrase "x reader" blocked. people who don't like shipping can block the relevant shipping tag, etc.) if you don't like a specific person's content, block them and move on. i am not gonna sit here like some people are and pretend tumblr is a perfect place without discourse; hermitblr was literally just having the world's stupidest discourse last week. however, generally, we try not to do callout posts and have a much more "tolerant of things we don't like" attitude than what i've seen of mcyttwt. we also, generally, have had fewer discourses lately, i just like, don't want to give the impression i think we're immune or something. so just... try to keep that going!

treat ccs as any other user. follow, don't follow, or block as you want, but they aren't why we're here. we're why we're here. so don't treat them as any different from any other tumblr user, yeah? tends to work out better for all of us.

additionally, i'm gonna recommend: i leave anons on. you can block anons that send you stuff you don't like. you can also just... ignore anons or off-anon asks that send you stuff that annoys you. "tumblr may have eaten your ask" basically isn't true anymore, but it could be, and it's like, not that rude or anything to ignore people you don't like.

like okay i cannot recommend the merits enough of ignoring people you don't like. it works SO WELL. if you need to like, link or screenshot them in private with other people you know who will ignore it in public, vent, and then just... ignore them. oh my god does it make your life so much easier.

finally, it can be hard to find new friends at first. i honestly followed a lot of people who reblogged my stuff early on, as well as artists i saw that i liked and writers i saw that i liked. then, as time went on and i saw certain names around, that's who i followed, too. (plus i think i rooted out some joe stream regulars to follow, haha.) you'll build up a circle of the kinds of people you wanna follow. most people don't notice that much when people follow or unfollow. (some people do??? those people baffle me.) so it's not a big deal if you do that. have the experience you like!

hopefully any of this actually helps you!! good luck out there - i know it's scary getting used to a new place!!!

[xxlovelynovaxx]

Cool, so you're fundamentally reactionary:

(AI discourse below, you have been warned)

(the part below it says something about "the torment nexus)

If you think the books from 1984 are the torment nexus, or even a large contributor to the dystopia and not say, extreme censorship leading to those books that are made by machines that have STRICT rules about what can be written and produce NOTHING deemed "unacceptable" then I don't think you actually read 1984.

It's almost as if they have symbolic meaning and "machine book bad" isn't actually the full point.

And don't get me wrong, I don't personally like AI books. But about the only censorship that's occurring is of sexual content, and given that sexual AI text generators exist I think that's a moot point. If you're so concerned about society becoming "literally 1984" though, maybe focus more energy on stuff like Patreon and Gumroad's bans of (certain) nsfw content, on legislation within your state attempting to ban or restrict access to literature on queer identity and racism, and so on?

I'm not saying the people whining about AI aren't also doing that, but I am saying that wasting time on AI that could be used on stuff that actually matters isn't smart, because a world where AI generated texts exist alongside all manner of human-made ones is nowhere fucking close to 1984 and y'all need to either get a grip or keep weeping.

Also bonus:

Cool, cool. How much of your dislike of AI then comes from just having a squick around certain types (especially since as AI tech improves, I highly doubt you're having this reaction to every single image - at least, you're either "reacting" to stuff that ISN'T AI based on a shared art style and a guess that it is AI, and/or you're not reacting to all AI images because there's some you miss and think are not AI) and how much from fundamentally fascist ideas about what "real art" is or culturally christian ideas about how "real art" requires "hard work" or has "no soul" without a human touch.

I really need to filter AI discourse myself because I'm getting so tired of seeing the same indistinguishable-from-conservative-arguments-about-art about AI.

Especially the ableism and leaning into inspiration porn as proof that all disabled people CAN do art without using AI - or if not inspiration porn, insisting that any medium puts on a surface counts as art and people who can't do art in the way they want should just make basic fingerpaintings or scribbles and be happy they created something, which is WILDLY patronizing. There's nothing wrong with fingerpaintings or scribbles ofc, but gods don't act like that's enough for most people or even the reason people are engaging with art.

And for that matter stop moralizing people who engage with art for an end product rather than the process because reacting to "art is always about the end product" with "art is never about the end product" is just the same problem in reverse! It's almost as if the actual issue with either statement is in fact the idea of a "right way" to engage with art!)

Anyway it's not like the squick/trigger isn't valid but like. You clearly have not examined your biases or how your dislike of a type of image informs your reactionary beliefs towards it. Also, your actual issue seems to be that people aren't properly tagging their posts that contain AI images (and listen, I do have some sympathy for not being able to filter just "AI" as it would filter every post that has any word with letters in those order, possibly even that has letters in between judging how "a/e/mogai" filters "accessmogai" for us).

But I mean, people improperly tagging and poor filtering abilities aren't actually about AI. It's about this site's hostility to attempts at curating your own experience, despite being one of the better sites out there for it, and about people not doing anything to get around that.

Mind you, there's a solution that involves AI itself - if AI has a tag denoting that it is such in the metadata, and sites have a toggle that allows you to filter that tag so it's blurred or blocked altogether, much like they currently do for "adult content", then you'd never have to see AI again. Hell, the site could make the toggle only for stuff that had a "community label" or tag of AI and let users determine that - although with how many human artists have been accused of their art being AI, I think that's probably a really fucking bad idea.

Anyway, I'm tagging this as aicourse. I also struggle to filter shit takes like the screenshots above because no one is fucking tagging "ai hate" or "ai discourse" or anything, so again, I get the annoyance at not being easily able to filter it. I just think the latter person is a huge fucking hypocrite for not making their tired takes about AI filterable for everyone too, especially if it's because they think it's all "stupid brainwashed techbros" (wow, that's a lot of ableism*) that are for or neutral on AI.

*The amount of ableism and downright cruelty I've seen even towards people who have fallen for actual scams like NFTs and cryptocurrency, basically treating them the same shitty way you treat people with intellectual and cognitive disabilities with a heaping scoop of the shitty way you treat people who have been manipulated, radicalized, and even survived cults or cult-adjacent groups, is really fucking gross. And as somesys who hated NFTs and cryptocurrency at the height of their popularity, it's certainly made me feel unsafe as victims of manipulative abuse and survivors of cult-adjacent harm, it's made us feel really fucking unsafe!

Do you even actually care about how your rhetoric impacts vulnerable people, or is hating or clowning on a random bit of tech more important to you than that? Well, it's not either/or, because you could literally just actually think critically about the things you're saying and decide to use actual arguments that don't send out shrapnel leaving a bunch of collateral damage in their wake. I'd still disagree with it, but quite frankly even if I think you've chosen the wrong target, I can get behind hating.

Even if it's just for hating's sake, or if it's not, I find hating not related to identity/people to be a perfectly acceptable and even enjoyable pastime for plenty of people. It's just that you kind of fucking need to make sure you AREN'T still hurting people about it, directly or indirectly. Like when I hate on rayon sheets because their texture makes me want to peel my skin off, I'm not making it the problem of people who can only afford that or who like them or who are forced because of fast fashion to keep getting them or w/e.

Idk this has devolved into a personal vent but like. I'm gonna go make a post now about how shitty people are about people who are literally victims of scams and cults and such bc. Y'all fucking suck.

[consistentsquash]

5 meta recs for monday

the humanity of creators by @danpuff-ao3

A brilliant short essay on parasocial relationships/separating creator and art.

Creation is such a personal, vulnerable experience. Art, music, writing, etcetera. Creation itself is deeply personal, but so is the experience of those creations. It creates a point of connection, in a way. Connection to the creator, connection to other fans. But experiencing these works does not mean you know the creators. You know a piece of them, perhaps, but not the whole of them.

 

Must-know for Japanese fandom: the meaning of "proship" and the concept of "proshippers" in Western fandom by Maromi

Really well-written essay about Maromi's experiences with antis. Especially love the perspective of cultural differences and how folks can use literally anything to harass you if you are making some problematic art. Link is English translation of Maromi's actual essay in Japanese.

Proship-antis (hereafter referred to as "antis") began to claim that the "pro" stood for "problematic," and expanded their scope beyond a specific ship war to instead begin attacking all "proships." As the definition of the word became muddled, the number of young antis increased, especially among teenagers, who would attack people who supported any kind of problematic ship. This has sometimes escalated to bullying, to the point that one might become a target for harassment if they don't prove that they aren't a proshipper, or might be ostracized for not putting "proship DNI" in their profile. It's also used as a tool for racism―asking someone whose primary language isn't English whether or not they are a proshipper, and if they can't prove that they aren't, they may become a target for harassment. (This is what happened to me.)

  Mumbles by eldritcher

A really poignant look at fandom changes esp HP slash fandom changes. Incisive and resonates a lot.

LJ fandom was criticised often for its cult of nice that was a facade hiding all manner of nonsense. There’s truth to that, but what I’ve seen in the days after I find magnitudes more unappealing. The polemics of identities conducted so effectively and continually in modern fandom and fandom-adjacent publication genres is quite extraordinary. It's wicking out voices and stories, and it’s become an exercise in walking on eggshells. New authors, or new to English authors, or authors unfamiliar with or uninterested in Anglosphere cultural discourse, may not be able to do what I could do in the aughts, because of everything they’ll have to fear tripping on. 

  House elf plotline: A Critique of Author Choices by @ashesandhackles

HP meta in 2023??? Trust me! I really liked this meta and definitely recommend reading it even if you don't normally go for meta. It's just an incredible summary + observations of the worldbuilding. Definitely one of the most objective metas I have read in HP. You should actually think about posting it on AO3, @ashesandhackles.

With a character that had this much thought and agency in Chamber of Secrets specifically because of what it meant for house elves as a whole (and one whose presence made Hermione excited in GOF and hope that other house elves look at his example), one must ask ourselves: why?

  cringe by lierdumoa

The Revenge of the Pearl Clutchers That's what "cringing" is. It's pearl clutching. When the pearl clutchers turned cringe into an adjective, they turned a reaction into an accusation. The pearl clutchers don't want to take responsibility for their own kneejerk emotions. They want to blame YOU.

I feel like there's a lot of folks who are trying to reclaim cringe. But some newer folks are kind of missing the history context behind a lot of fandom vocabulary like this.

[boozles]

Boozle's Top Ten Actors 2023

As part of my 2023 review, I thought I would include my top ten actors of the year. (Lets be honest, I just love making lists, and end of the year lists are the best!)

In no order whatsoever...

(i) First Kanaphan Puitrakul I know, you're all shocked beyond comprehension. In all seriousness, though, First continues to blow me away with his acting. He really can play any part and he puts his everything into each role. It's been amazing the last few months to see people start to realise how amazing he is. A bonus is that he is a bloody lovely human being, too.

(ii) Force Jiratchapong Srisang I know there was a lot of discourse during Only Friends where Force (and Book) seemed to get a lot of hate, and I do not understand that at all. It was only this year that I discovered them because of A Boss and A Babe, and between that, Enchante and Only Friends...Force is a bloody fantastic actor! When he's on screen he commands your attention, and I cannot wait to see what is next in store for him.

(iii) Khaotung Thanawat Rattanakitpaisan I know, what a shocker, eh? Khaotung deserves all the recognition he has been receiving this year, he really does. This man puts his heart and soul and then a little more into every performance, and I am still not over Ray's therapy scene in Only Friends. I can't even find the words to completely explain how much I adore this man's acting, I just love him so much. I would really love to send a fruit basket to whomever made the decision to pair him and First together, because it literally may have been the greatest decision ever made in the history of acting.

(iv) Mark Pakin Kunaanuwit Mark really has been the stand out for GMMTV this year, hasn't he? Not only is he a precious wee bean, he's so bloody talented and we can't get enough of him. I know he has said he doesn't really want to play any big lead roles, but regardless, I hope we see lots more of him (after he gets some rest because he was super busy in 2023!).

(v) New Thitipoom Techa-apaikhun Gosh, he's a little cutie, isn't he? This year was the first I'd ever seen New in anything, and it was actually The Warp Effect that introduced me to him, and I just fell in love. There's just something about how New portrays emotions, especially sad ones? It's like he manages to change his aura and just really put out what the characters are feeling, and I'm looking forward to the rest of Cherry Magic, and Peaceful Property in 2024!

(vi) Jan Ployshompoo Supasap "Finally, a woman!" I hear you all cry as we pass the halfway mark of this list. I love Jan. Every time she pops up in a series I get all giddy because not only is she an amazing actress and singer, she's so funny! I think the first thing I saw her in was Tonhon Chonlatee, and I honestly think I wouldn't have made it through the show if it weren't for her. I think you can watch her series through the years and see her grow as an actress, and I'm so looking forward to seeing more of her in 2024!

(vii) Book Kasidet PlookPhol I know I already mentioned it with Force, but I really do not understand the hate both of these men received this year with Only Friends. Book has blown me away with his acting; it never feels like a repeat performance with him. I often think about how different Theo, Cher and Mew are and it blow my mind that the same person played all three roles. If you don't like Book, i honestly worry about your taste.

(viii) Mek Jirakit Thhawornwong I had to include my husband, Mek. The thing is, I think Mek is a fantastic actor, but GMMTV really did not treat him as well as he deserved. Star and Sky was a terrible series, but Mek really stood out to me (I only watched the show because it was the only series includied in Our Skyy 2 that I hadn't seen, and Mek was the only part of it I came out enjoying). 2023 has seen him mostly doing modelling and promo spots, but I am so excited to see him in Red Peafowl and My Stand In in 2024 (plus, it looks like we're going to get new music from his band, Saint After Six)!

(ix) Neo Trai Nimtawat I think I'm lucky that the first thing I saw Neo in was The Eclipse, because he said that beforehand he always felt like he played the class clown, whilst he got to actually show his acting skills in The Eclipse. Fast forward to Only Friends and he came out victorious with everyone being blown away by how versatile he is as a performer. I've adored him since he was Kanlong, and I hope he has a long and lucrative career.

(x) Tay Tawan Vihokratana When I first watched Kiss Me Again this year, initially it was because I wanted to watch more New, then this little terror just sideswept me off my feet. I won't lie, I still haven't watched 3 Will Be Free (I know, I know, I'll be fixing that in the New Year) so my experience with Tay is just his performance as Pete in Kiss Me Again & Dark Blue Kiss, and what we've seen of Cherry Magic so far...and I love him. The difference between Pete and Karan is enough to prove how fantastic Tay is as an actor, and I am so looking forward to Peaceful Property. It doesn't hurt that he has the most heartwarming smile that makes my legs feel like jelly.

Honorary Mentions: (i) Billy Patchanon Ounsa-ard (ii) Babe Tanatat Phanviriyakoo (iii) Silvy Pavida Moriggi (iv) Louis Tien Chiang (v) Bright Rapheephong Thapsuwan (vi) Nonkul Chanon Santinatornkul

[genderkoolaid]

in my brain, the whole "[size] dick energy" thing was always coined to de-stigmatise dick size with the usual help of humour. the sentiment being that it doesn't matter what your actual genital size is, what matters is your energy and how you behave regardless of it.

it's not perfect, no, but it's miles better than just omitting the "energy" part. society has been weird about genital size all along (see: small genitals being desirable in ancient Greece) so acting like it's gonna go away ever or overnight is just. eh.

I don't see where it's realistic to spend so much energy arguing about this as if it's life or death?

I'd rather rejoice that a human trafficker is in custody for reasons of his own making.

How, exactly, does using "small dick" as an insult destigmatize dick size?

You are still associating dick size with worth. Listen to me: your argument is ridiculous.

"You have a small dick" = bodyshaming insult

"You have small dick energy" = destigmatization? Are you being serious right now? Are you seriously trying to argue that slapping "energy" on the end of a bodyshaming insult is destigmatization? Would using "fat energy" as an insult destigmatize fatness? Are you for real right now?

The body part is in the name. Its not like, a code word. It did not come from any sort of attempt to destigmatize small dicks. It could not more clearly be based in the idea that having a big dick is seen as being something cool, powerful, and worthy. That is a basic fact of modern Western culture, and you would have to be wildly disconnected from modern Western culture to think that isn't the reason the jokes became popular in the first place.

It is not "miles better" than without the energy part. It is the exact same. People (transmascs and intersex people especially) who are directly impacted by this, because it is directly mocking our bodies, are saying that this is bodyshaming because it directly leads to our own self-hatred and the undervaluing of our bodies in society. If anything, its helping to continue normalizing this bodyshaming because of people like you, who for some reason that escapes me, think that putting "energy" after bodyshaming negates the bodyshaming.

Also, are you fucking kidding me? Really? "its been around forever so its not gonna go away anytime soon"? Are you really using that tired argument?

I know its been around for a while. I have, in fact, literally said that I don't blame people for using it without realizing its bodyshaming because its so ingrained in our culture and its not a well-known enough issue for the average person to even connect it with bodyshaming. I just want people who hear people explain why its harmful to stop making those jokes and stop defending them. I'm not "acting as if its life or death", I'm just annoyed that people keep making weak arguments about why it Totally Isnt Bodyshaming to avoid doing any self-reflection on how something that you take for granted may actually be harmful and against your own morals.

Which gets on to your final point, which I have also seen @transfaguette get. That we are distracting from the human trafficker getting arrested or something.

Literally the first things I did when I heard the news was make a post celebrating it, and reblogging the actual screenshots, and answering an ask saying that I live for the day Andrew Tate falls into obscurity. I didn't even mention the bodyshaming until someone else brought it up, and I mentioned how I was annoyed with people's lame justifications. But also, in the tags:

#wish greta hadn't used that insult but y'know greater good + i don't entirely blame her for not being aware of a#rather niche viewpoint on it#kinda same w how I feel abt people using empathy to mean compassion/being a good person#like it's not right but it's also not in the public discourse enough#for the avg person to realize why it's harmful

I literally said it was for the "greater good" and that I didn't blame her, or even most people, for using the joke without thinking about the bodyshaming element.

I did and am rejoicing at the human trafficker getting himself arrested in the stupidest way possible. I have been very openly happy about Greta's tweet since I literally first saw it. It is possible for people to both be happy with what happened, and wish that a different joke had been used.

The reason "small dick energy" as a joke is being discussed is because this is an issue I have talked about in the past, and since it was used in a very well-known instance recently, it makes sense to bring it back up since it's already in people's minds. Its not like I completely ignored what happened, or I'm out here saying that the entire thing shouldn't have happened because Greta made a joke I didn't like. I love that what happened, happened, and I continue to be happy about it. I was mildly annoyed she used a small dick joke, and I am far more annoyed with people like you who feel the need to make these weird, flimsy defenses of it?

You are just being actively resistant to the fact that connecting having a small penis, in any way, shape, or form, to being less of a man or worth less as a person or less cool or whatever is bodyshaming and it hurts people. If you can be as creative with your insults as you are with your defenses of bodyshaming, I'm sure you'll be fine.